Continuing the line of classic Doctor Who DVD releases, April saw the issuing of classic Peter Davison stories “Kinda” and “Snakedance” to the Who DVD range. Both are from the early 80’s; both feature the Fifth Doctor; and both feature the dream-preying Mara. (Yes, this is the era referred to by David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor in “Time Crash.”)
Of the two, “Kinda” is my favorite release. It’s very early in Davison’s run as The Doctor, but it’s also one of the first stories to have a quintessentially 80’s feel. Most of this story was done in studio sets made to look like a jungle. Some might argue that it looks fake; I thought it looked pretty good. The score – provided here by Peter Howell – also has a very 80’s vibe to it.
It’s amusing to see how Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) is conveniently written out of most of this story, to the point that she’s not even credited on the DVD packaging. As always, there’s great commentary – here provided by actors Peter Davison (The Doctor), Janet Fielding (Tegan), Matthew Waterhouse (Adric) and Nerys Hughes (Todd), plus a fantastic 34 minute behind the scenes story with crew and cast interviews. (Which actor told a much more experienced actor how to do their job? The answer is on this documentary) Additionally, there’s a retrospective on the career of director Peter Grimwade.
“Kinda” is fairly engrossing until we actually see the Mara… which… yeah. It looks like one of those inflatable dummies that you’d see outside of a car dealership. Not the most impressive effect. But don’t let it take you too far from the story… it’s one of my favorites.
“Snakedance” aired a year later and is a sequel to the “Kinda” story, as producer John Nathan-Turner wanted to bring back classic foes for each episode that season. In “Snakedance,” Tegan’s having dreams and the Doctor & company go to a really cool looking place. Future Men Behaving Badly star Martin Clunes plays the annoying Lon. While this story has its moments, I still prefer “Kinda.” Commentary for this one is from Davison, Fielding, and Sarah Sutton. Extras include deleted scenes and a 24 minute “Making Of” featurette.
Both stories have Production Notes which is always a great way to learn some Who trivia.
I’ve said it many times, but I love that Classic Who is coming out on DVD at such a speed. In the coming weeks, look forward to reviews of the two May releases, “Terror of the Autons” and “Planet of the Spiders.”
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